I couldn’t see my bed. It was under there somewhere, buried beneath piles of dresses. Shoes scattered the floor, almost giving me a black eye when I tangled my toes in the straps of a pair of gladiator sandals and pitched face first into my bedside table.

Fortunately, a long forgotten bridesmaid dress broke my fall. I don’t know what that was doing out of the closet. I was desperate for something to wear to the Winters Foundation event, but mint green chiffon was not going to make the cut. It had been bad enough wearing that thing the first time.

Staring at the mess in my bedroom, I determined two things. One, for a girl who didn’t get out much I had way too many dresses. And two, I really needed to clean out my closet. Oh, and three, I still had no idea what I was wearing to the party. Or why I was going.

Aiden had given me the perfect out. Be my date, or you’re fired. Couldn’t be much simpler than that. All I had to do was say No and this whole disastrous plan of mine fell apart.

Wasn’t it time?

I’d been there almost three months and I hadn’t found a single thing I could use against Aiden. Either his skeletons were at the very back of the closet, or he didn’t have any.

I was beginning to think it was the latter. I knew all about the Winters family. Everyone knew about the Winters family. It wasn’t just that they were ridiculously wealthy and powerful. It wasn’t only that they ran Winters, Inc., a company that had subsidiaries in every corner of the globe and made more money than most countries’ GDPs.

Beyond all of that, they were famous for scandal and murder. Aiden’s aunt and uncle had died in a mysterious murder-suicide when he was a child, and his parents had been killed in a seemingly identical crime years later. I didn’t remember the first, but when his parents died they were all over the tabloids.

None of the Winters children could set foot outside their gated estate without facing a swarm of reporters. In the years since, the media had hounded all of them, eager for any hint of scandal they could spin into drama.

Knowing that, it was hard to imagine they could keep any secrets, much less that Aiden was hiding the kind of secret I could use as leverage against him. For two weeks I’d been right outside his office, privy to every detail of his business, and I hadn’t seen or heard a single thing that led me to believe he was the kind of man who would steal a company.

But, I knew what I knew. I’d been there, seen the buyer he’d sent by proxy, met with him alongside Chase. If only we’d reviewed the contracts line by line the way Aiden did his own. If only we’d realized our corporate lawyers were susceptible to bribery. We had a lot of if only’s.

Chase had given up and walked away. I wasn’t willing to do that. Not yet.

Aiden said I was a puzzle, but he was a mystery I had to solve. I knew he was guilty. Hadn’t I spent two months working in a department that had been created from the ashes of Chase’s company? The proof was right there. I was a fool to doubt it. And an even bigger fool to feel a tingle of excitement at the idea of going to a party with Aiden Winters.

This was going to end in disaster, and I couldn’t bring myself to walk away.

I left the mess in my bedroom and headed for the kitchen. I needed a glass of wine before I thought about cleaning up. I was going to have to find time to go shopping because nothing I had was suitable for a formal event. I refused to consider any of my three bridesmaids dresses. I didn’t do ruffles. I was pushing the cork back in the bottle when the doorbell rang.

Weird. Chase sometimes had friends drop by at odd hours, but since he’d been gone on this consulting job they hadn’t bothered. A quick check on the security camera showed a uniformed courier standing outside my door holding a large rectangular box. I pressed the button on the intercom and said, “Yes?”

“I have a delivery for Violet Hartwell.”

“A delivery? Who is it from? I didn’t order anything.”

“It’s from Aiden Winters.”

Of course, it was.

I unlocked the door and swung it open, taking the oversized, unwieldy box from the courier’s arms. “Hold on just a second,” I said, intending to get my purse and scrounge up a few dollars for a tip.

Freed of the box, the courier stepped back, gave me a friendly wave, and said “It’s already been taken care of. Have a nice night.”

He disappeared down the hall, leaving me balancing the heavy box on one arm as I struggled to flip the lock closed on the front door. By the time I reached the kitchen table, I was about to drop it. I recognized the name on the lid as a high-end boutique I’d never stepped inside, even the smallest accessory far outside my budget.

My hands shook a little as I pulled up on the sides of the glossy, white box. I shouldn’t open it. I shouldn’t accept whatever was inside. I couldn’t stop myself from lifting the lid and carefully peeling back the white tissue paper.

I sucked in a breath at the sight of the dress inside the box. Strapless tulle, the color of midnight, set off by a burst of gold at the waist that sent streamers across the bodice and down through the full skirt, ending in gold stars. The navy would perfectly complement my pale skin and odd bluish-purple eyes. The gold was only a few shades darker than my hair. The dress might have been made for me, though I never would have chosen something so feminine and fanciful myself.

If I’d bought a dress, it would have been black and probably boring. Carefully, I lifted the gown from the box and checked the tag. A long sigh escaped me. I’d never thought I’d wear Valentino. For just a second I felt like Cinderella. Except Aiden wasn’t the prince, he was the evil stepmother. Or the wicked witch.

Never mind, he was the bad guy, that’s all I needed to know.

I remembered that I was lying to him and sneaking around inside his company to try to find information I could use against him.

Fine, then we were both the bad guy, and this was no fairytale.

At least I got the dress. Pulling it completely free of the box, I discovered a matching pair of midnight blue and gold spike heels. I love shoes. I mean, I really love shoes. I kept my work clothes simple, professional, and mostly dull. But not my shoes.

Shoes were my weakness and my indulgence. Heels, sandals, more heels. I owned one pair of sneakers, a single set of flip-flops, and countless pairs of stilettos, wedges, pumps, kitten heels, cone heels, ankle boots. None of them anywhere close to as expensive as the heels Aiden had bought for me. I slipped one on my bare foot and sighed again as it fit perfectly.

I didn’t have to try on the dress to know it would fit as well. I did anyway, and as I pulled up the zipper, the bodice closed around me as if it had been hand sewn for me alone. For just a minute I thought about sending it all back, telling Aiden it was over.

I knew I wouldn’t. I wanted to wear this dress. I wanted to go out with Aiden.

I was a complete, total idiot.

Putting that thought out of my mind, I removed the dress and shoes, carefully putting them away for the next day. Then, I made myself deal with the pile of discarded dresses on my bed, responsibly pulling out a few I could donate, including the mint green chiffon bridesmaid dress. Maybe someone could make some use of it because it wouldn’t be me.

When I was done, I curled up in bed with my tablet and pulled up videos of formal hairstyles. If I was going to go to the ball with Prince Charming, I was going to do it right.

Aiden didn’t mention the delivery at work on Friday. In fact, I barely saw him all day. He left for a meeting before noon and didn’t return until three-thirty, when he stopped by my desk, stared down at me and said, “Why don’t you leave early, Ms. Hartwell.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, and started the process of shutting down my computer and gathering my things. I heard the resentful whispers from behind me. I ignored them. I was getting very good at ignoring my coworkers.

Just that morning I’d driven Peter and Marisela crazy by drinking my salted coffee as if there were nothing wrong with it. The more serene my expression, the louder I could hear Marisela’s teeth grinding together. I’d almost lost my composure and burst into laughter at her frustration, but that would have ruined my fun.

I was ready well before seven-thirty, my hair pinned up into an elaborate twist of curls and braids, formal enough for the event, but fanciful enough to suit the dress. I buried my nerves in preparation, taking more time with my makeup then I had since my first dance in college.

I wouldn’t know a soul there aside from Aiden, and I didn’t want anyone to question my right to be on his arm. He went out with the most beautiful women in Atlanta. In the country, really. I couldn’t match up to them—I wasn’t an actress or a model—but I was going to give this everything I had.

I opened the door at Aiden’s knock. His expression when he saw me was more than gratifying. I took a tiny step back at the heat in his eyes as he took in the swell of my breasts, tightly contained by the strapless bodice, my bared shoulders, the curve of my waist and the flare of the filmy skirt.

“You’re stunning,” he said, simply. “I knew you would be.”

“Thank you for the dress.” My cheeks warmed under his stare.

“You’re welcome. Shall we?” Aiden offered his arm, and I took it, pushing away all my doubts. It was too late to get out now. I might as well do my best to have fun.

All I could do was hope that if my charade came to an end, it wouldn’t be tonight.